Ditikeni obtains stake in STANLIB
Ditikeni Investment Company Limited, the broad-based empowerment vehicle for non-profit organisations, has obtained a stake in STANLIB, one of South Africa’s three largest asset managers.
Ditikeni Investment Company Limited, the broad-based empowerment vehicle for non-profit organisations, has obtained a stake in STANLIB, one of South Africa’s three largest asset managers.
STANLIB is a joint venture of Standard Bank and Liberty Life. The Ditikeni stake will be housed in a trust especially formed for broad-based entities which, in addition to Ditikeni, will represent youth, black universities, women’s groups and others.
The leading BEE investor in STANLIB is Safika Holdings, which introduced Ditikeni to the transaction. Safika spokesperson Vuli Cuba said that Safika valued Ditikeni’s credible profile as a genuinely broad-based company.
“We are working with Ditikeni on this and other transactions because we like its national profile, wide spread of activities including health, basic education and community development, and because the beneficiaries are well-established and stable organisations.”
Safika holds 51% of the empowerment consortium which in turn owns 25.2% of STANLIB. STANLIB’s other shareholders are Standard Bank Group and Liberty Group.
Ditikeni’s participation has been welcomed by STANLIB director and chief executive of the Liberty Group, Mr Myles Ruck.
“Transformation is an important goal in our group, and we feel the BEE consortium led by Safika and which now owns 25.2% of STANLIB has outstanding credentials and will add much to the company. Ditikeni stands out as suitable partner given its shareholder base in communities throughout South Africa where they work with the poorest sections of society.”
Ditikeni director Sahra Ryklief said the company was excited by the transaction which gives it 1.625% of STANLIB indirectly.
“Ditikeni values its association with institutions such as Standard and Liberty and believe the model they have adopted in their empowerment transaction will be successful. We note that broad-based groups have a total of 40% of the empowerment consortium, ensuring that the benefits of empowerment are very widely distributed.
“Ditikeni’s 23 non-profit shareholders aim ultimately to build up an endowment to enhance their sustainability, and the STANLIB transaction contributes substantially to that.”
She added that “Ditikeni empowers the people who are doing empowerment at grassroots level through community development and other activities” in 109 villages, towns and cities in all nine provinces.
Ditikeni was formed in 2000 to enable non-profit organisations to participate in empowerment transactions. When Ditikeni’s investments are realised, they will provide its 23 shareholders – all of them not-for-profit – with an endowment to enable them to continue their community work sustainably. All Ditikeni shareholders are well-established, mature organisations with high levels of accountability and governance.
STANLIB was formed in 2002 from the asset management divisions of Standard Bank and Liberty Life. It has R152 billion under management and administration, behind only Old Mutual and Sanlam. The empowerment transaction is being financed by Standard Bank over a five to seven year term.
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